How Capgemini Recognized Employee Resource Group Contributions

I’m excited to highlight yet another Blackbaud customer that went above and beyond in 2020 to harness employee engagement and reward the employees that have kept their teams engaged in corporate philanthropic programs during what has been a difficult and isolating year for many.

Capgemini’s corporate social responsibility programs have offered a focus on volunteering, environmental sustainability, diversity and inclusion and groups, providing philanthropic outlets to employees with all-cause interests. As the pandemic worsened in the summer of 2020, Capgemini employee resource groups (ERGs) actually experienced greater attendance and event participation, even in the tough times.

Capgemini’s CSR team attributes this success to the influx of social events and meaningful wellness opportunities that provided employees a safe place to check-in and relate with one another. After pulling group stats through their employee engagement platform, Blackbaud’s YourCause CSRconnect™, the CSR team found that the ERGs were tracking more volunteering hours than any year before, were being promoted throughout the company two times more than normal, and were retaining members at an 8% higher rate.

The work that the ERG leaders and ambassadors put in during the pandemic went above and beyond the call to support fellow employees and they wanted to empower the leaders by making everyone feel included and appreciated.

The results were Capgemini’s first ERG Awards, which featured two group categories: ERG of the Year and Most Innovative ERG During COVID. Nine individual categories were created for members and leaders to be nominated for: Rockstar Rookie, Creative Changemaker, Collective Contributor, External Excellence, Outstanding Alumni, ERG Leaders of the Year, Executive Sponsor of the Year, ERG of the Year and Most Innovative ERG During COVID-19.

• Rockstar Rookie – A new leader in 2020 who has stepped up to the plate and delivered extraordinary results this year.
• Creative Changemaker – An individual who has transformed particularly innovative, creative and impactful ideas into reality this year.
• Collective Contributor – An individual who collaborates and contributes across numerous ERGs and team functions, and is exceptional at bringing together effective teams to accomplish a goal.
• External Excellence – An individual who took Capgemini’s CSR program outside the bounds of our organization and did something great with a client, community partner or other non-Capgemini entity.
• Outstanding Alumni– An individual who previously held a national, local, or workstream lead or executive sponsor position in an ERG, and continues to leverage their influence, wisdom, and experience to help the ERG(s) meet their goals and accomplish even greater things.
• ERG Leader of the Year – An ERG leader whose determination, vision, and skill in execution has led to outstanding results for their ERG in 2020.
• Executive Sponsor of the Year – An outstanding executive sponsor who has significantly contributed to the success of their ERG by providing support, outstanding guidance, and exposure.
• ERG of the Year – An ERG that was outstanding in 2020 by consistently demonstrating innovative, future-forward, visionary thinking, and executing consistently impactful programming.
• Most Innovative ERG During COVID-19 – An ERG that stepped up to the challenges of 2020 by innovating to maintain and increase a sense of belonging for all employees or executing a particularly creative and impactful program in response to COVID-19.

Employees were asked to self-nominate or nominate a colleague for the awards and an external panel of judges was selected to avoid bias in the decision making.

Altogether, the ERG awards celebrated the hard work that Capgemini employees put in during the year to bring their colleagues together, but it also recognized all of the positive impacts made during difficult times. The Capgemini CSR team looks forward to being able to celebrate more ERG accomplishments and hopes that the participation from 2020 continues on.